The Next Big Thing in Tradeshow Booth Design

tradeshow booth design

Interview with Archex’s Lead Designer

Many think that Archex is in the business of marketing, promoting, and selling a client’s products. To a certain extent, this is true, but our primary purpose is really to transform our clients’ desires and needs into a physical reality in the form of a trade show exhibit.

By means of this creation, we will entice individuals who are passing by the trade show booth, clarifying why they should visit for more information. In other words, we are trying to get the visitor to step over that line that separates the aisle he is in from your booth display. If we can do this, then we have done our job.

What are the trends for 2022, what is the future of tradeshow design? Our in-house tradeshow booth designer, Paulo Butter, played along and answered our many questions.

More About Paulo

Paulo has been a project manager/designer in the tradeshow industry for over 30 years. His career first started in Brazil but eventually moved to Canada. As Paulo mentions, the ways of conducting business and design are very different between the 2 countries. His dual vision brings a special touch to all of his designs.

Always in tune with the trends and best practices in Europe, South and North America, including Paulo in the team in 2016 have elevated our design experience and expertise. Let’s get his input into tradeshow booth design for 2022 and what the future trends could bring.

Question: Can you guide us through your definition of an effective tradeshow booth design?

Paulo:

Good question but unfortunately there is no one right answer. Each client has its own definition of a successful tradeshow booth. Whether it be sales, leads, brand awareness, portable is therefore easy for transport and installation.

Our job at Archex, and one of our strong suits, is that we listen carefully to the client’s needs and wants and we are capable of providing a creative solution to their expectations and needs.

As a designer, my job is to keep the project aligned with the client’s priorities while instilling a touch of creativity and design for the wow effect.

For me, a successful project is one that ticks off ALL of the requests in the original briefing. Whether it be:

Assigned budget,
Catch the attention of a specific target audience,
Recover/reuse/recycle as much material as possible,
Easy to assemble/transport/store, …

All the while keeping in mind functionality, practicality, and aesthetics.

Each project is unique, with different and particular characteristics.

A designer must be someone with their feet on the ground, connected with reality and current events. Someone who is committed.

I’m sorry if you were expecting a different answer such as: Yes, this year to have an impactful booth you need a 16-foot arch, white, with only your logo standing out. Each booth is different, each company has its objectives, each brand has its own personal flavor and behind each brand, there are human beings with different tastes and ideas. That is what makes it challenging, I can tell you that being a designer is to try to surpass yourself every day.

Question: Do you see any trends emerging for 2022?

Paulo:

2022 will be an interesting year… I think we will learn to adapt to even more surprises.

I feel that the tradeshow modular systems (Archex mostly uses Octanorm*) will have their place. Our difference at Archex will be the way we take something standard and modular and turn it into something unique and unexpected.

*Octanorm is an aluminum extrusion that becomes the skeleton for your booth. It is the building block that transforms a structure into beauty. These modular systems are by far the most adaptable should you wish to change your booth size and configuration. You can easily increase or decrease your booth size or add and remove components etc. All the while benefiting from a unique look and design. Learn more

Question: Can you think of a few do’s and don’t’s for our clients?

Paulo:

I always remember what my father told me when I started working…

” You have to dress according to the position you want, and not the position you actually have.”

I try to transmit this mindset to my clients all the time…

You must always show yourself to the world the way you see yourself in the future so that your audience will get on board with your project and your fantasy! I know you have to be realistic and work with the resources you have. But not to the point that your reality today determines what you will become in the future. You have to dare!

Question: Is there one innovation in booth design that you’ve seen come up in the last few months/years that has changed the industry?

I am amazed at the development of tubular/portable systems into more complex kiosk assembly systems. I think it’s a stroke of genius!

Think about it, one of the most expensive things in the tradeshow world is

The transportation (loaded by volume)
The material handling (loaded by weight)
The installation/disassembly (loaded by time)

So, today we are able to offer a very interesting booth, light, easy to assemble (by the exhibitor himself), easy to transport (it can be taken in the car or in the plane as oversized luggage), and able to expand according to for future needs.

At Archex, we have understood the genius of this product line adding our infinite creativity for the development of graphics.

Thanks to Paulo and his team we can demonstrate that the design professionals at Archex know what they are doing, and what it takes to make your trade show experience successful. We really do.

Archex knows how to get visitors into your booth, which is why you chose to mandate us and is the reason why our long-time clients have retained us. Tell us what you need and want and our competent team of experts will make your trade show exhibit successful.

Get inspired by visiting our portfolio and call at 1-800-499-1012, we will start the design process.